A 10-Year Retrospective on the Posse STEM Program FEBRUARY 2018
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Solving the Equation for Higher Education and the Workforce A 10-year Retrospective on the Posse STEM Program FEBRUARY 2018 1 Solving the Equation for Higher Education and the Workforce A 10-year Retrospective on the Posse STEM Program FEBRUARY 2018 Contents 3 Posse Concept, Mission + Goals 4 Five Program Components 5 Who are Posse Scholars? 6 Praise For Posse STEM Program 7 STEM Program Context + Background 9 Special Thanks 10 Posse STEM Pre-Collegiate + Immersion Programs 11 Posse STEM Campus Program 12 Recruitment: The Dynamic Assessment Process Data 14 Campus Program Data 17 Alumni Data 22 Awards + Fellowships 23 Scholar Profiles 27 Alumni Profiles 31 Appendix 2 Posse Concept, Mission + Goals Concept College + University Partners Posse started in 1989 because of one student who said, AGNES SCOTT COLLEGE BABSON COLLEGE “I never would’ve dropped out of BARD COLLEGE BOSTON UNIVERSITY BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY college if I’d had my posse with me.” BRYN MAWR COLLEGE BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY The Posse Foundation identifies public high school CARLETON COLLEGE students with extraordinary academic and leadership CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY potential who may be overlooked by traditional college CENTRE COLLEGE selection processes. The Foundation extends to these COLBY COLLEGE students the opportunity to pursue personal and academic THE COLLEGE OF WOOSTER excellence by placing them in supportive, multicultural CONNECTICUT COLLEGE teams—Posses—of 10 students. The Foundation’s partner CORNELL UNIVERSITY colleges and universities award Posse Scholars full-tuition DARTMOUTH COLLEGE leadership scholarships. DAVIDSON COLLEGE DENISON UNIVERSITY DEPAUW UNIVERSITY Mission DICKINSON COLLEGE The Posse model works for both students and college FRANKLIN & MARSHALL COLLEGE campuses and is rooted in the belief that a small, diverse THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY group of talented students—a Posse—carefully selected GRINNELL COLLEGE and trained, can serve as a catalyst for increased HAMILTON COLLEGE individual and community development. As the United HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES States becomes an increasingly multicultural society, ILLINOIS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY Posse believes that the leaders of this new century should KALAMAZOO COLLEGE reflect the country’s rich demographic mix and that the LAFAYETTE COLLEGE LEHIGH UNIVERSITY key to a promising future for our nation rests on the ability LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY of strong leaders from diverse backgrounds to develop MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE consensus solutions to complex social problems. One MOUNT HOLYOKE COLLEGE of the primary aims of the Posse program is to train the NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY leaders of tomorrow. OBERLIN COLLEGE PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY Goals POMONA COLLEGE SEWANEE: THE UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH 1. To expand the pool from which top colleges and SMITH COLLEGE universities can recruit outstanding young leaders ST. OLAF COLLEGE from diverse backgrounds. SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY 2. To help these institutions build more interactive TRINITY COLLEGE campus environments so that they can become more TULANE UNIVERSITY welcoming institutions for people from all backgrounds. UNION COLLEGE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY 3. To ensure that Posse Scholars persist in their academic UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN studies and graduate so they can take on leadership UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME positions in the workforce. UNIVERSITY OF PUGET SOUND UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY VASSAR COLLEGE WELLESLEY COLLEGE WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY WHEATON COLLEGE 3 Five Program Components The Posse Program achieves its goals through 5 program components. 1. Recruitment 3. Campus Program From September to December each year, Posse The Campus Program works to ensure the retention of conducts the Dynamic Assessment Process (DAP), Posse Scholars and to increase the impact of Posse on a unique evaluation method designed to identify young campus. Posse staff members visit each college and university leaders who might be missed by traditional admissions four times a year for meetings with Posse Scholars, campus criteria, but who can excel at selective colleges and liaisons and mentors. During a Posse’s first two years on campus, universities. Using nontraditional forums to evaluate Scholars meet with their mentor each week as a group and potential, DAP offers students an opportunity to every other week individually. In addition, Posse facilitates demonstrate their intrinsic leadership abilities, their an annual weekend-long PossePlus Retreat attended by skill at working in a team setting, and their motivation members of the larger student body, faculty and administration and desire to succeed. DAP has proven to be an extremely with the goal of discussing an important campus issue effective tool for identifying outstanding young leaders. identified by Posse Scholars. In a three-part process, including large group and individual interviews, Posse staff and partner college 4. Career Program and university administrators ultimately select a diverse The Career Program supports Posse Scholars as they group of 10 students for each college or university, thus transition from being leaders on campus to becoming forming a Posse. leaders in the workforce. Posse plays an integral role in the professional development of these young people by 2. Pre-Collegiate Training providing them with the tools and opportunities necessary From January to August of their senior year in high to secure highly competitive, career-enhancing internships school, Posse Scholars meet weekly with staff trainers and jobs. One of the ways Posse achieves this is by and their Posse peers for two-hour workshops. The partnering with exceptional companies and organizations, Pre-Collegiate Training Program consists of workshops both nationally and abroad. The Career Program has three that address four areas: 1) team building and group core components: 1) Internship Program, 2) Career Services support, 2) cross-cultural communication, 3) leadership and 3) The Alumni Network. and becoming an active agent of change on campus, and 4) academic excellence. The goal of the training is to 5. Posse Access prepare Scholars for leadership roles on campus and for Posse Access is an online database designed to give the high-level academic expectations of their colleges. Posse partner colleges and universities exclusive access to unselected student nominees to consider for regular admission. Through Posse Access, the hundreds of finalists nationwide who are not selected can opt to have their application profiles made available to each of Posse’s partner institutions. By identifying candidates through the Posse Access database, partner schools benefit from Posse’s holistic approach to evaluating student potential and a see a much greater pool of highly qualified students. 4 Who are Posse Scholars? This year more than 17,000 students When Posse Scholars graduate, they take on leadership positions in the workforce. Posse alumni are scientists, doctors were nominated for 750 scholarship and researchers. They are CEOs, educators, artists, and political slots. Posse Scholars represent the organizers. In 2020, the workforce will include 6,000 Posse graduates working in government, education, the arts and most dynamic talent this country corporate America. has to offer. The most recent class of Scholars (selected in fall 2017) We identify Posse Scholars through our Dynamic had an average high school GPA of 3.8. Of this group, 56.3 Assessment Process (DAP)—a unique, nontraditional percent are first-generation collegegoers. and highly competitive three-stage interview involving guidance counselors, community-based organizations Posse Scholars persist and graduate at a rate of 90 percent. and university admissions representatives. In our college graduating class of 2017: DAP evaluates the whole student through the use of • 80 percent held an official leadership position indicators such as leadership, communication skills, life (founder, president, officer, etc.) in a student organization experiences, problem-solving ability and perseverance. while on campus It identifies students who have proven their ability to succeed—whether or not they have high test scores. It • 54 percent studied abroad identifies students who are natural leaders and want to make an impact in their communities. • 83 percent plan on attending graduate school Ask anyone to describe a Posse Scholar, and you get Through DAP, The Posse Foundation is expanding the pool from words such as: motivated, creative, intelligent, dynamic, which top colleges can recruit outstanding young leaders. highly involved, persistent, positive, enthusiastic, optimistic, funny, magnetic and determined. Katharine Wright, a Posse mentor and Middlebury College faculty member, talked about the first time she met Posse Scholars: “I noticed them the first week but by the third week I was just floored. These extraordinary students, just changing the dynamic of the whole class. I had no idea they were Posse students.” Posse Scholars are extraordinary. Posse Scholars intern on Capitol Hill, win Fulbrights and tutor their peers. Posse Scholars are study session leaders and student government presidents. They facilitate conversations on race and write for their college newspapers. 5 Praise for Posse STEM Program Posse STEM has proven to be one of the most successful of the many efforts across the country aimed at increasing the diversity of the STEM workforce.